Something Magical
by Dawn That Shines in the Trees
Summary: This is gonna be a long summer. Why did I have to be invited to such a boring place for a boring summer with my boring family and my boring perverted step-cousin and live such a boring life? Sometimes I wish I could have just a little more excitement, a little more adventure. But then something happened. Something magical. A/U with tons of fluffyness and Percabeth. T for swearing.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N**: Greetings, people of FanFiction. I'm a newbie here and I'm trying my hand at a Fic. If you're not interested in my author's note, go ahead and skip to the story. If you're extremely bored and interested in reading my note out of pure and utter boredom, yay for you. I got this idea while on vacation during spring break (Gasp! That means she's in school!) in Mendocino. Mendocino is a rustic little seaside town surrounded by forests, and while I was staring down the cliffs at the roaring ocean, I couldn't help but think of how beautiful the ocean was and how Percy would've loved it there. Ding, ding, ding! Lightbulb! And that was the birth of my first FanFic. Oh, my plot-bunnies have bred a new race of ideas! This Fic is beta-less, so forgive me if I have any mistakes. There are a few things I don't remember from PJatO, such as where Annabeth lives, what her house looks like, what her stepmom's name is, etc… so if anyone could fill me in on my gaps, feel free to do so. Also, I will try to keep the swearing at a minimum, but this is rated T because of future swearing in A/N's. (I curse like a sailor, if you know what I mean.) Oh, well this was ridiculously long…. On with the story!

**Edit**: I just realized that I never specified whether or not there would be demigods in this... but yes, there will be demigods. As of right now, Annabeth does not know she is a demigod; I planned a way for her to find out as well as reveal who Percy is. There is a twist, though. Just sayin'.

**Disclaimer**: Apparently, I'm supposed to do one of these. I own nothing but the plot, the idiots, and a three-foot-long stuffed animal wolf.

* * *

**Annabeth POV**

"Annabeth! Are you ready to go?" My dad yelled up the stairs at me. I took another glance around my room, just to make sure I had everything I needed, before throwing my backpack over my shoulder and tromping down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm ready." I replied when I came into view. All our luggage was in the car, as was my step-mom and my two step-brothers, and everything I might need for the road was on hand in my backpack.

I scrambled into the family mini-van, thanking the gods that I was by myself in the middle row, and settled in for the three hour long trip to Mendocino. My step-uncle had invited us all to the summer house he owned there for most of the summer.

If it were up to me, I wouldn't have gone. Trapped in a five bedroom house with my annoying step-brothers and perverted step-cousin with only trees, rocks, and sea brine for company? No, thank you. At least I brought books. Even with my ADHD and dyslexia, I could still enjoy a good book.

I watched the highway fly past the window until I got bored and fidgety. By then, I deduced that the best option to kill time was to take a nap.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of Bobby and Matthew complaining about needing to go to the bathroom.

"Boys, didn't I tell you not to drink all of that soda?" My step-mom, Helen, berated. "Frederick, pull off at the nearest exit."

"Already on it," Dad said with a grin. I noticed a light fog had rolled in and wondered how far away we were.

"Hey, Dad?" Once I heard his replying, 'hmm,' I continued. "When will we get there?"

"Oh, say, and hour and a half." He said as he pulled into a McDonald's parking lot. As soon as the engine cut, the boys hauled themselves out of the van and made a mad dash for McDonald's.

"Bobby! Matthew! Don't run!" Helen yelled after them.

"But I gotta pee!" They shouted simultaneously, attracting the attention of a few bystanders. I ducked my head in hopes that no one noticed me in the car with them.

We waited in the car until Bobby and Matthew emerged, which took longer than expected. I had just pulled out my favorite Greek architecture book when Matthew ran out. Without even waiting to get closer to the car, he yelled, "Bobby fell in the toilet!"

The people who had forgotten the boys' earlier escapade were quickly brought to attention, yet again. Like before, I slouched into my seat.

"Oh, dear," Helen muttered as she ducked out of the car and went to save Bobby from the toilet.

They appeared a few minutes later, Bobby sheepishly looking at the ground. Bobby and Matthew both looked like they had been thoroughly chastised and sat in the car quietly as we drove away. Finally, some quiet.

"Stop touching me!" One of them whined. I sighed. I had spoken, or rather thought, too soon.

"Stop smelling so bad!" the other retorted.

"Well, if you don't want to smell me, why don't you just stop breathing?!"

"Boys, quiet down!" Helen looked over her shoulder at the back with a stern glance.

"But, Mom!" They synchronized.

"Listen to your mother, boys." Dad said.

We turned into an exit that led to a winding road through the now-existent forest. The trees were tall and dense, the foliage damp from the fog. It was quite a beautiful road, with the trees and the moss and the wild air about it. Though I was a city girl, originally from New York, I could still appreciate the beauty of nature.

Meanwhile, the others were still bickering and it was giving me an awful migraine.

"Will you guys just be quiet?!" I snapped angrily. Silence fell over the car in a blissful cocoon.

"Sorry, Annabeth," someone, I think it was Bobby, whispered. I huffed and crossed my arms, staring moodily out the window.

"Sorry, honey," Helen reached back and gave my knee a pat, "Why don't you take another nap? We'll be there in no time."

I gazed through the window a few more minutes before giving in to the lull of sleep.

* * *

"Annabeth, Annabeth, wake up." I groggily opened my eyes to Matthew's slightly blurry face. I had a horrible crick in my neck from sleeping in such an awful position.

I straightened up and groaned when my neck whined in protest. I shot a quick glance out the window to notice that we were finally here.

The house was large; three stories, five bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, full kitchen, and a sitting room. The architecture wasn't that great, but before I could criticize it, my attention was drawn to the surrounding wilderness. The backyard was literally a forest, with soaring trees, dense underbrush, and a variety of forest-y looking plants. I would have to explore that later. But for now, my gaze was at the ocean.

The house was right off a cliff leading straight into the sea. The waves crashed and rolled against the rocks in mesmerizing movements, the salty taste of the sea spray permeating the air. The water was a turquoise/gray color, due to the cloud cover, but I would expect it to be a clear blue/green with the sun out. The road that led up to the house veered off the main road, which led down to the beach.

I took in all of this in a matter of seconds, storing it away to ponder later.

I eased out of the car and stretched stiffly once out in the cool seaside breeze. I shifted my weight around from leg to leg, trying to gain feeling in my numb butt. No sooner had I taken a step in the house, had I been barreled into by a massive form.

"Watch it!" I snarled, my natural reflexes taking over and righting me before I could fall.

"Woah," a deep voice I didn't recognize said, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I replied tartly, dusting myself off, "Just watch where you're going next time."

"Right… sorry." I looked up to see a fairly good-looking guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, tan skin, lean, average build, average height… pretty average. The expression on his face was one of embarrassment.

"I'm Collin, by the way." He rubbed one hand at the back of his neck and extended the other for me to shake.

"Annabeth." I hesitantly placed my hand in his firm grasp and shook it once. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh, I'm a friend of Mark's." Collin shrugged and stuffed his hand in his pockets. I shuddered at the mention of my step-cousin's name. Mark always seemed to find a way hit on me or, on some occasions, perv on me.

"How are you a friend of Mark's?" I asked incredulously, "You're too well mannered."

He laughed nervously and shrugged.

"Well, I have to go unpack," I shouldered my way past him into the hallway, "if you'll excuse me."

"Wait, wait, wait," Collin moved in front of me so that he blocked my way, yet again, "What do you mean, 'unpack'?"

"I mean unpack, as in 'undo or remove contents from' my luggage." I said sarcastically, nodding my head slowly as if talking to a child.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I get that," I saw a faint blush rising up his neck and thought it kind of adorable, "But does that mean you're staying _here_?"

"Nooo," I dragged out the word, my sarcasm making a show, once again, "I'm staying in the big conifer tree out in the backyard…. Yes, I'm staying here."

"Why?" Collin truly looked confused.

"'Cause I was forced to." I bypassed him, casually ending our conversation, and made my way over to my dad.

"I'll see you around?" Collin yelled after me. In reply, I flicked two fingers up behind me in a gesture that could mean anything.

"Hey, Dad. What room am I staying in?" I readjusted my backpack on my shoulder, "Please don't tell me I have to share a room."

"You don't have to share a room," Dad chuckled, "You get the room on the third floor, furthest to the left, with a view of the ocean."

"Okay. Is my stuff already up there?" I paused at the foot of the stairs and looked back over my shoulder.

"Yeah, Mark and his friend were kind enough to bring them up for you." Dad glanced around absentmindedly, "Oh, and Annabeth."

"Yeah?" I was slowly inching myself up the stairs, hoping to hide in there for the remainder of the day.

"Once you unpack, change into your swimsuit. Everyone is going down to the beach to have some fun; you should come, too." I groaned internally.

"Do I have to?" I whined. I knew I sounded petulant but, I just wanted to curl up and read a good book by myself.

"Yes, Annabeth. Go out, have some fun… maybe you'll even meet a nice boy out there." Dad raised an eyebrow suggestively. I shuddered; that was just too weird.

"Ew, Dad, that's just – ew." I shuddered again, this time emphasizing it.

"Come one, honey. You're seventeen and you've never had a boyfriend." Wow, that was harsh. Especially when it's coming from my dad.

"Gee, Dad... thanks." I sighed in acquiescence, "Fine, I'll go. But don't expect me to socialize."

"Oh, well. I tried," he shrugged, "Maybe you could hang out with Mark's friend, he seems like a nice boy."

I shook my head in exasperation and continued my way up the stairs.

_This is gonna be a long summer._

* * *

**A/N**: And there's my first chappie. I'm hoping to add Percy in the next chapter, so don't worry. I will try to update regularly but it all depends on my moods. See you all in the next chapter,

lessthanthree - Dawn


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N**: Yay, I updated! Whoop, whoop! I'll try and get better at updating... no promises, though. I'd like to thank those of you who reviewed, favorited, or followed my story; I didn't really expect for anyone to read it so soon. But thanks, guys... it means a lot.

I've got a question, though; how old are Bobby and Matthew supposed to be? In this Fic, I pictured them kinda young but I'd still like to be politically correct. So if Annabeth is 17, how old does that make Bobby and Matthew?

Also, I have not read _Mark of Athena_ yet (for shame! I know, I know) so there won't be any references to that in here. This story is mostly from Annabeth's POV but I might be persuaded to put in some Percy POV *hint, hint. cough, cough* (Percy's gonna show up soon.) Anyways, now I'm rambling so I'll just get to the story.

**Disclaimer**: Must I do one of these every time? *sigh*** **Names, characters, references, and anything else that might be copyrighted belongs to their respective owners. I don't own it... but I do own the rest of the world...

* * *

"No! I'm not interested!" I growled. This was the fourth guy to attempt to flirt with me and I'd just about had enough.

"Aw, come on, babe," he whined. I didn't even know his name. He just walked up to where I was quietly sunbathing and immediately started with the stupid pick up lines.

"For the last time, get lost!" I rose from the towel I was lying on to make myself seem more menacing. I lowered my voice and shot him my best if-you-don't-walk-away-I-will-kill-you glare, which was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself, "Get lost, or I will make you."

"Oooh, feisty. Just the way I like 'em." He sneered at me, "What's the matter, sweetness, can't handle all of this?"

"I can handle it, alright." I muttered. Balancing myself, I cocked my arm back and thrust it forward, right into his pretty little face.

"And that was only half power." I said smugly. What's-his-face scowled as he picked himself up off the ground, trying to muster his nonexistent dignity.

I gathered up the towel and made my way over to where the others were. Bobby and Matthew were playing near the surf, Dad was watching them, Helen was talking to Hank (my step-uncle), and Mark and Collin were both ogling girls in skimpy bikinis. I mean, I was wearing a bikini too, but at least mine was pretty modest.

It was a nondescript gray color. Tied in a halter around my neck with a sparkly plastic gem in between my breasts, that was pretty much the only interesting thing about my swimsuit.

I dumped my stuff near Dad and took out the sarong I used as a cover-up.

"Hey, Dad. I'm gonna walk around and explore for a while, okay?" I asked as I wrapped the sarong around myself.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, that's fine. Just don't get lost and be back in two hours." He replied, unconcerned.

"Can I have some money, too? I might want to buy something later." I shifted my weight from leg to leg, anxious to get away from all of the commotion.

"Buy what, exactly?" Dad asked, but gave me a wad of bills nonetheless.

"I dunno. Souvenirs, food, trinkets…." I shrugged noncommittally, "I'll be back sometime in the future."

Placing the money in an overlapping fold of my sarong, I set off across the stretch of beach.

I didn't have any destination in mind; I just wanted to walk and think and take in the sights. And, oh, what sights there were to see. The ocean was beautiful. The deep blue waves ebbing and flowing with the tide, fading off into the horizon, promising untold secrets. It made me wonder if there was anything else out there.

Taking another look around, I noticed that I had walked a fair distance away and had successfully escaped the fringes of humanity. I also noticed that there was a trail that led off into the trees. With my curiosity piqued, I decided to follow it.

I picked my way through the underbrush, treading silently and carefully. The trail wove through trees and rocks with no apparent pattern, just a trail with an unknown end. Seeing a clearing ahead, I hurried my pace until I broke through the forest.

The trail had led me to another stretch of beach. Instead of soft sand, though, the ground was made of jagged layers of rock. A little ways up was a hole in the ground. _Now, that is interesting_, I thought to myself.

I walked cautiously over to the hole, careful not to accidentally stab myself on a crag. To my surprise, a sandy path was worn in the middle of the tunnel. Someone comes here. So, I decided to throw caution into the wind and go down the tunnel. _I hope I don't end up like Alice __in Wonderland_, I narrated silently.

Fortunately, Wonderland was not down this hole. Instead, I found a cove. A beautiful little cove that seemed to glow with – something… I wasn't sure what it glowed with. It just glowed with something… almost magical.

The floor was with a fine layer of sand except, instead of having the sand slowly dip into the water, the floor abruptly cut off around a jagged pool that led off into the open ocean. The ceiling was high and dark, made of the same material as the rocks outside the tunnel, and hung in an outcrop over the deep pool of water within the cove. A gaping wide opening led out to a cliff face on either side with the ocean directly ahead. The sun that shone from underneath the outcropping caused the clear cerulean water to cast a glow on the walls.

Taking a closer look, I noticed that there were a few crags and nooks hollowed into the walls that made excellent hiding places. Quite a few looked rather comfortable and I decided to rest for a while in one of the bigger crannies.

And, of course, the world just had to hate on me. The minute I got comfortable in one of the nooks, I heard voices. Two of them, both male, and they were headed my way. I squished myself into the hole as far as I could go in hopes of going unnoticed. Splashing and a peculiar clip-clopping noise accompanied the voices.

"Man, it feels good to get away from all that drama." One of the voices says. This one doesn't sound particularly deep, but it had a type of resonance that held power. Despite the powerful tenor, it also sounded like it was a voice that had known laughter as well as sadness. If I had to judge the person from only his voice, I would say he was an overall happy guy with a sad past and had known many responsibilities.

"Sucks to be you, Perce," the other voice comments. Now this voice is different. It had a bit of a nervous rumble, as if the guy spent a lot of time laughing skittishly at awkward silences. He seemed to be the peace-keeper type. He would be the guy who'd choose to go the easy way, but would do whatever it takes if a friend asked for something.

"Yeah, yeah… rub it in, goat-boy. You're so lucky; have you seen all of the stuff Dad makes me do? It's crazy!" says voice number one.

"As a matter of fact, I have. You've taken me down there to do your chores so many times, it's a surprise I haven't grown gills myself!" Down there? Down where? And gills? What are these guys talking about?

"Now that would be something to see. Goat-boy-fish; what a mix!" The first voice jokes. His laugh reaches the cove and echoes off the walls. I find that I like his laugh just as much as I like his speaking voice. "Anyways, I'll see you around G-man."

"Yeah, I gotta go find Juniper, too." More clip-clopping and splashing reaches my ears. "Bye, Perce!"

The clip-clopping picks up pace and I hear it slowly fade away in the direction of the cliff faces. It sounded eerily like a goat. Lost in my thoughts trying to figure out what the clip-clopping could be, I almost didn't notice the sound of splashing getting closer. Voice number one was in the water and swimming toward the cove. Oh, Styx.

The splashing gets closer and I pray to the gods, hoping that he won't see me. And since the world is hating on me, that doesn't happen. The splashing stops for a moment before lurching up again. It sounds like he pulled himself up out of the water. Faint swishing noises are still there, so I assume his feet are still touching the sea.

I see a movement out of the corner of my eye and instinctively turn. There, in the corner of my nook, is a spider. And then all reason flies out the rhetorical window; I scream bloody murder.

"AHHH! Spi-sp-SPIDER!" I shriek. I scramble frantically out of the crevice and land in an undignified heap on the floor.

"AHHH!" I hear another voice echo my cry. Another, deeper, masculine voice. I whip my head around to stare at him. I catch a glimpse of tanned skin and dark hair before he falls backward into the pool with the course of his surprise.

Once I was a fair distance away from the spider, I warily pick myself up from the ground and dust myself off, trying to fight off my blush of embarrassment.

Making my way over to the pool where the water still foams around the area the stranger fell in, I peer carefully into the small ripples. At that moment, his head shoots back up and I barely stumble away just fast enough to avoid getting knocked in the head.

And then I'm stunned into silence. The stranger is _hot_. Gorgeous, drop-dead sexy, drool-worthy… all of those words used to describe someone to fangirl over. His hair was dark and messy, the water dripping from it slid languidly down his face. And what a face that was. His eyes were the most beautiful color I had ever seen! A deep sea green, just like the ocean… they almost distracted me from his tanned, muscular, dripping wet, _naked_ torso. Key word – almost. It was so unlike me to ogle hot boys but, he had to be the exception.

After a long moment staring at him in ways that might be classified as perverted, I noticed his heavy gaze on me.

"Who are you?!" I asked once my tongue decided to grace me with its' presence.

"I would ask you the same thing!" he said, seemingly coming out of a stupor.

So, I did the childish thing and said, "Well I asked you first!"

At this, he grinned. The effect was breathtaking... hold up. Since when have I been the type to swoon over guys? _Since now_, whispered a little voice in the back of my head. This little voice was definitely not my conscience.

"I'm Perseus. Perseus Jackson." He held his hand out for me to shake, "But you can call me Percy."

"Annabeth Chase." I replied. And since he made no move to get out of the water, I stood up and walked the few steps over to the pool to shake his hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Annabeth Chase." I let my gaze roam over him again, slower this time. But then I saw something beneath the water. I screamed.

"OH MY GODS! You-you're a-" I scrambled backwards a few steps and landed on my butt. I was definitely gonna have bruises tomorrow.

"Oh, Styx." Percy muttered, as if what lied under the surface of the water was no big deal. "Please, just don't freak out!"

"It's a little late for that, don't you think?!" I shrieked.

"Right, yeah. Sorry." The water swished around his waist as he swam close to prop his elbows on the edge of the pool. "Just... calm down, okay?"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" I roared, anger replacing my hysteria. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down when you're a... a..."

"Yeah, go ahead and say it." He acquiesced in a resigned tone.

"You're a..." I swallowed nervously, "You're a _merman_."

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long to update... what can I say? I get lazy. And I get that this is a total cliffie but, I'm evil like that. Don't expect another update until around Monday of next week; it's a very depressing time for me, right now, and I might not be able to write fluff in this type of mood. I wish you all the best, and happy reading!

P.S. Please review... it makes me happy.

lessthanthree - Dawn


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N**: Ahhh, well... I haven't updated in a while. Sorry. The past few weeks have been rather hectic. Also, I feel the need to point out that, as of now, I have no set plot. I have a vague idea of what I want to happen but, I have no real problem. So yeah, this is mostly fluff. I'm hoping that I will suddenly get the perfect epiphany and weave an adventure into this story, but until then, I will have to take hour long showers and hope that it works (my bathroom is a magical place; I've gotten four wonderful, amazing, beautiful, breathtaking, awe-inspiring epiphanies in there, concerning my book). But I'm sure a few of you will be short with me for not updating, so why don't I get to it?

**Disclaimer**: Names, characters, places, and logic, as well as anything else that might be copyrighted belong to their respective owners.

* * *

"You're a merman," I repeated, "you're a _merman_!"

"Well... yeah, last time I checked." Percy shrugged nonchalantly.

"How are you a merman?!" My thoughts were running rampant. Soon, words were tumbling out of my mouth, their vowels and consonants running over each other in their haste to be heard. "I mean, how is this physically possible? Does this mean there's a whole society of merfolk existing under our noses? Where did you come from? How were you conceived? How are you acting so calm? Why are you looking at me like that?"

I paused to suck in a breath and gather my wits, which had seemed to take a vacation. Percy flopped some hair out of his eyes and held his palms out.

"Calm down for a sec. I promise I'll answer your questions." He paused to see if I was listening. I took another deep breath and sat down on the ground again, crossing my legs and staring pointedly at Percy.

"Okay," he began, "you know, I'm actually not supposed to tell you all this."

"So why are you?" I inquired. I started dusting myself off and settled in for a long explanation.

"'Cause you can see me." He replied simply. "You can see through the Mist."

before I had the chance to ask what he meant, he began his tale.

"I'm a demigod. A s-"

"Wait, wait, wait! Demigods are supposed to be a myth." I interrupted.

"Are you gonna let me finish?" Percy replied snidely. I huffed and stayed quiet.

"I'm guessing you already know about the Greek gods and all that," without giving me time to reply, he continued, "well, that's all real. The gods, nymphs, satyrs... demigods. And I'm one of them, a demigod. Half-mortal, half-god... and my godly parent is Poseidon, god of-"

"God of the seas, the Great Earthshaker, creator of horses." I cut in, unable to stop myself. "That should be why you're great with water, but that doesn't explain why you have a tail. From what I've read, mortal children of the gods still look human."

"I'm getting there!" He snapped at me. I would've been offended, had it not been for the sly grin on his face or the amusement glinting in his eyes.

"Anyways... yes, I am a son of Poseidon. Technically, I was never supposed to be born, but I'll get to that later." He waved his hand at me when I made a move to interrupt and continued. "Right, so about my tail... and this requires telling you about my past; it's quite a story.

"I was born in Manhattan. My mother was a kind, gentle woman and she loved me. Or so I've been told; I don't remember much of my mother. When I was about five months old, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I'm not sure what type, but she knew that it would kill her eventually. She didn't have enough money or strength to take care of me, anymore." Percy paused and drew in a shaky breath. His eyes were glossy with remembrance. "So she gave me away. Well, she didn't give me away. Not exactly. She knew who my father was, and she knew the consequences my birth would have on him, but she had no one else to trust me with. So she prayed to the gods that he would accept me and raise me. After three days, she put me in a floating basket and set me in the ocean. My father had been watching, at the time. He told me that my mother cried for me, said that she loved me... and I don't remember a single thing about her."

Percy spoke of his mother with a reverence, but there was an underlying tone of resentment. He looked so lost, right then. His beautiful green eyes had a dull, lost-puppy type of look to them.

"I'm sorry," was all I could really say. And it wasn't as if he hadn't heard those words a million times, because he probably had.

"It's fine," Percy took in a breath and continued, "Anyways, I haven't gotten to why I have a tail.

"I've been living in the ocean for almost my entire life. Naturally, it would've been difficult to live like that without the proper bodily functions. I'm not sure when or how it started, but ever since I could remember, I've been able to change back and forth between my human form and my mer-form." Percy heaved himself out of the pool and on to the ledge, very near to where I was sitting. I could reach out and touch him without even straightening my arm. Giving my racing heart and mental berating, I gazed curiously at Percy's tail.

It was a pretty stereotypical tail. The scales started at his hip, not very prominent and sort of translucent, and grew more substantial on the way down. They were a shimmery green hue, never really settling on a single shade. His... fin, I guess, did typically look like the fluke of a whale or dolphin, though it seemed to have a more of a kelp-y texture. Aside from the ridged dorsal-esque fin at the back of his tail at the area around his thighs, Percy's tail had no strange appendages, coloration, patterning, or otherwise questionable features. A pretty stereotypical tail.

"Well," I sighed, "this was not expected."

"Just wait until you see the awesomeness of my transformation," Percy said laughingly. And with that, he decided to pull an 'Apollo' on me. And by 'Apollo,' I mean whacked-out-godly-disco-ball.

Percy closed his eyes in concentration and a light shimmered up his body. Soon enough, he was just a glowing form, too bright to look at. When the light receded a short moment later, in Percy's place was a human. From the waist up, he was the same; messy black hair, bright, sea green eyes, lean, muscled torso... unbelievably gorgeous. But he was completely dry and, oh yeah, he had legs.

In place of his tail were two, inexplicably human legs. Gods, if he was naked... But he wasn't. So why was I slightly disappointed? Percy naked—_oh, gods! Ew!_ Now that I'm thinking about it, Percy naked is so disgusting! And I'm not just thinking that because I caught myself thinking about Percy naked, though the thought of that is certainly something I should not be thinking about thinking. I think?

I hate my ADHD!

Anyways, no, Percy was not naked. He was wearing a pair of blue plaid board shorts. How very normal.

"Hmm," I said noncommittally when Percy asked my opinion.

"'Hmm'. That's all you have to say?" Percy scooted just the tiniest bit closer and I wasn't sure whether it was subconsciously or not. "But you're not gonna freak out, are you?"

"No," I tried for nonchalance, picking off a few errant grains of sand and examining my nails. "I think I've gotten the whole 'freaking out' thing over with."

"Well, that's a relief," he sighed.

"But I'm still confused. Why did you tell me about your... past? Why did you trust me with this?" Percy gave a one-shouldered shrug, brushing his arm against mine. And I so did not feel a tingle. Yup, definitely no tingle. It was only a brush of static electricity, or residual sand... definitely not a tingle.

"You can see through the Mist. That would make you either one of those special humans... or something else." And thus began the commencement of an explanation of demigods and mythical creatures and some sort of camp.

My head was spinning after learning all of that. Which made the sunlight glinting off the water that much more of an irritant. And also reminded me...

"Oh my gods!" I jumped to my feet, dislodging the heavy arm that had come to rest over my shoulders. I didn't remember how it got there, but it did, and now I missed it. I hurriedly readjusted my sarong and turned back to Percy to see he was slowly getting up from the ground.

"I have to go! My dad is probably worried." I gave him one last glance before making my way to the tunnel of the cave.

"Annabeth, wait!" Percy gripped my arm and tugged me back into him. "Will I see you again?"

"I... I don't know." The thought of never seeing him again was... it was confounding. I shouldn't feel this way about a boy I'd only just met. He was a merman, nonetheless. But I liked him. He was nice and funny and sometimes a little bit stupid.

"I want to see you again." The tone in his voice was pleading, "Meet me here; tomorrow, same time."

"I," I shouldn't be doing this. "okay."

"Okay." I shouldn't be doing this.

"Okay." I was doing this.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow. I haven't uploaded in forever. Sorry 'bout that. I'll try to be better.

lessthanthree - Dawn


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N**: Hello again! I hope you're happy to see me! I'm very chipper right now... no idea why. Anyways, I'll try to be better at updating; it's summer and I have more than enough time. Still, no promises. There's not really much for me to say in this one. Uh, read on...?

**Disclaimer**: I hate these, you know that? All names, characters, places, and anything else that might be copyrighted belong to their respective owners.

* * *

It was strange.

It was strange how everyone (excluding myself) was milling about the house and talking about nonsensical fluff. It was strange how Mark was so obtusely persistent, it might've been cute. If not for the perverted innuendos the one-sided conversation consisted of (three guesses who was talking... the first two don't count). It was strange how... giddy I felt.

Pfft, what? I was most definitely not giddy over Mark paying attention to me. Gods, that's just all types of nasty. No, I was giddy because of Percy.

It was nearing the time I was supposed to meet him. I was just itching to get out of this place, and out of this conversation, so much so that I was willing to risk arriving thirty minutes early.

"No," I said, hastily shooting up from where I perched, reading a book. I had no idea what I replied to, just that my reply to Mark was always going to be 'no.'

"What? C'mon, it's a great idea. Whaddya say? You and me. Let's get away from this for a while." Mark gave a terrible eyebrow wiggle and gesticulated fervently.

"No, no, no... and uh... no. It is and always will be, a no." Mark was heedless of the fact that we were step-cousins, as well as the frank tone in my voice. "Actually, I have somewhere to be. So, bye."

I nearly sprinted out of the house, pausing only to tell my dad I was going out, before disappearing through the door.

Walking down the trail to the beach, I readjusted my white short-shorts and angrily yanked my hair out of its ponytail to redo it, albeit not any neater. I spent the majority of the walk down to the cove fuming in silence, giving all the people who attempted to approach me a stony glare. It was only once I made it to the tiny trail in the middle of the woods that I finally calmed down.

That, and for my giddiness to return.

Percy was sweet and funny and just enough of an idiot to make it adorable. We didn't just talk about gods and demigods and myths yesterday, we also talked about the ocean and the sky and Poseidon's realm and whether or not bacon is a good bubblegum flavor. What can I say? We both have ADHD.

I silently crept down the rabbit-hole of an entrance to the cove, but paused at the opening when I heard mumbling.

"... think I'm a psycho for coming so early. I should've waited longer. What was I thinking? Coming here an hour early. She's probably not gonna come. Gods, I'm such an idiot..." Percy had his own little rant going on down there. I was going to step inside at that moment, but he continued talking.

"But what if she does come? Styx, what am I gonna do? Should I pray to Aphrodite? No, that's stupid; she would never help me." The sky darkened for a moment before returning to normal. "And why Aphrodite? I'm not even looking for a relationship! But if I was, Annabeth would be perfect. She's funny, beautiful, smart..."

I ducked my head and blushed, even though he couldn't see me. He thought I was beautiful? I halted my inner contemplation as I realized he was still mumbling.

"... -king about? I'm a merman, for Zeus' sake! It would never work out. She probably thinks I'm a total psycho! She probably thinks I'm-" It was then I decided to make myself known.

"Well, instead of guessing about what I think, why don't you just let me think it?" I stepped out into the cove and saw Percy for the first time that day.

I was surprised. Not only was he human, but he was also wearing normal clothes. A long sleeved, form-fitting blue tee shirt, cargo shorts, and gray Converse high-tops made up his ensemble. And gods, did he look good. He had been leaning against the wall of the cove with one leg propped up behind him and one hand in his pocket. The other was halfway through his hair when I walked in.

Percy started and quickly toppled over at his loss of balance. He lay sprawled stomach-down in the sand for a split second before scrambling to get up. Which failed miserably, seeing as how he still had one hand in his pocket and, in his attempt to use that hand, elbowed himself in the eye. How that was possible... I wasn't even going to try to figure that out. To elbow oneself in the face with the attached hand shoved in a pocket would require a surprising amount of maneuverability.

Anyhow, I snickered softly and offered to help him up.

"No, I'm—ugh, ow," Percy groaned and held his free hand to his face while yanking at his trapped hand until it came free of his pocket. "I'm fine. I'm just gonna—I'm just gonna lay here for a bit. Care to join me?"

"Come on, you idiot. Get up." I sauntered over and knelt down beside him. He had his face smooshed into the sand; it was a wonder he could even breathe. Unless... he didn't actually need to breathe.

"Hey, Percy," he opened one eye to look at me, "do you need to breathe?"

"What?" Rolling on to his back, Percy stretched out his arms, causing a small sliver of skin to show where his shirt rode up. It wasn't as if I hadn't seen it before, but it was still tantalizing.

"I was just wondering how you breathed under water." With his hands shoved under his head, Percy contented himself with lying on the ground and made no move to sit up. By then, I'd propped myself on the cave wall by his feet.

"Well, it's just like breathing normally, except with water instead of air." I cast my gaze out over the water but felt Percy's on me.

"Hmm," I put my eyes back on Percy, "so what do you wanna do now?"

"I was planning on showing you all of my favorite spots around here..." he looked adorably unsure, "if that's okay?"

"That would be perfect. I've been meaning to take a look around." I straightened up and held a hand put for Percy.

"Gods, this started out horribly." he said, grasping my hand. "Isn't the guy supposed to help the girl up?"

I gave a small laugh and shook my head resignedly at his stupidity. Realizing I still held his hand, I quickly dropped it and made my way up out of the cove.

"Wait, we're not going up that way." Percy reached out and brushed his fingers along my shoulder.

"What?" And my confusion was back, "Is there another way out?"

"Yes and no." When I opened my mouth to ask about it, he gave me a small smile and shook his head. "You'll see."

Tugging me back to him, I watched as he waved his hand at the pool of water and muttered a few words under his breath. Then the water starts churning and changes to an unearthly blue. Soon enough, there's a vast whirlpool glowing an unreal turquoise in the center of the pool.

"Percy? What _is_ that?"

"Well, it's a whirlpool." He said, as if he genuinely expected me not to know that.

"Yeah, I got that. I meant, what does it do?" A sheepish look crossed his face and he stumbled though his next reply.

"Oh, well... it's like a transvacation de–"

"You mean 'transportation'?" I corrected. I sighed internally; he was just too cute.

"That's what I said." Percy glared at me as if daring me to prove otherwise. I gestured for him to continue.

"Ahem. Yeah, it's like a _transportation_ device. I can summon it whenever I want, as long as it's near water. I just have to picture wherever I want to go and it can take me there." My mind was whirling as fact as the whirlpool, trying to find a scientific explanation. The physics of this is just impossible. Then again, so were merfolk.

"Do we have to go in it?"

"Mhmm," Percy confirmed. "Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks."

I allowed him to lead to the edge of the pool. Peering at the whirlpool, I calmed my nerves, repeating the _I can do this, I can do this_ mantra over and over in my head.

"Hey," Percy whispered gently, "you'll be fine."

And without further warning, he clutched me to him and threw us over the edge.

My vision blurred and a hot flash crawled up my spine. I didn't know if that was because of the whirlpool, or because of Percy's arms around me.

In less than a second, sooner than I expected, we stepped out into the light. Dramatic, I know. But that's what it felt like. One second, everything was dark and the next, literally, it was light.

"You can open your eyes now." Trailing his hands down my arms, my body tingled for entirely different reasons. Percy laced his fingers through mine for a short moment before letting go and stepping back.

I did as he said and opened my eyes to come face to face with a tree. Or would that be face to trunk? Face to bark? I looked over my shoulder and quirked an eyebrow at Percy. With a small smile, he pointed over my shoulder. Turning again, I peered around the tree and noticed that we were, in fact, behind a tree across the street from downtown Mendocino.

"I thought downtown would be a good place to start," Percy shrugged. With a gesture for me to go first, he smiled just a little wider and stepped aside. "Shall we?"

"We shall," I said in a haughty voice. I let my lips tip up into a tentative smile as I passed him and stepped forward to cross the street.

* * *

Percy led me through the streets and pointed out a few of the shops. It was nice. And a few of them were really interesting; I saw shops for glass art, kaleidoscopes, seaside boutique, and lots of clothing.

We had just walked out of an ice cream shop, ice cream in hand, when we came across the first bitches of the day. And by bitch, I mean the type of girl that flirts with everything that has a certain something between his legs. And Percy was now on their radar.

They were just down the block, a trio of them, and the sound of Percy's laughter had caught their attention. I noticed them before he did, though I doubt Percy'd notice them until they were right in front of him. The boy was just so oblivious. But I wasn't going to take my chances, either.

I looped my arm through his and leaned into him, waving my ice cream cone under his nose. "Want to try?"

I had gotten a rainbow sherbet and Percy had gotten some very strange flavor that was hardly chosen. When I asked him about it, he replied simply, "It was blue."

After his initial shock at my advance faded, he sent me another one of his barely-there dimpled grins. (**A/N**: I actually don't know if Percy has dimples. It just sounded cuter like that. But if somewhere it says that he doesn't have dimples, will someone please correct me?) Percy ducked his head down took a swipe from my ice cream with is tongue. Though, with our awkward position and height difference, a bit got on his nose. Mustering my courage, I stood on the tips of my toes, pulled his head towards me just the slightest and licked the ice cream off his nose.

I pulled back, released him completely, really, and fought against my blush. I don't think I won.

I dared a peek at Percy out of the corner of my eye and saw him staring at me with a dazed expression. Before I could react, he dabbed the tip of my nose with the ice cream cone he was still holding and swooped to lick it off.

"Just returning the favor," he whispered in my ear.

With the way he was looking at me, I didn't even notice the burning glares I was receiving from a trio of girls just down the block.

* * *

**A/N**: I suck, I know. You guys need to motivate me more! Tell me to update faster or I'll never get around to it. Or you could just leave reviews for the heck of it. I love them, anyways.

lessthanthree - Dawn


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A/N**: I'm trying to be better at updating, I really am. But school is starting soon and I've been busy working on my book. Also, I've gotten another idea, which I will say more about in the end A/N. But for now, enjoy my next chapter!

**Disclaimer**: This getting really tiring... You know what? Screw it! This is mine! All of it! Mine, you hear?

Percy: Um, Dawn?

Me: Whoo hoo! Yea-ah! You appeared!

Annabeth: About that...

Me: Annabeth? You too? You guys need to get together. Like, seriously.

Percy: *blush*

Annabeth: Actually, we belong to Rick Riordan. He thought us up.

Me: But... but...

Annabeth: Sorry. I like where this is going, though.

Me: Really? Yay! Then I should continue, right?

Percy: Absolutely! Get to it!

* * *

Oh. My. Gods. This was... this was amazing. Being here with Percy... it made me happier than I'd been in a while.

After our little ice cream escapade, Percy and I walked a bit further before he announced that he wanted to show me something else.

"Does it involve more whirlpools?" I asked cautiously.

"Well, yeah," He looked gleefully excited though. "But you're gonna love this last place."

So, after cajoling me into jumping through another whirlpool, we ended up here. Right now.

And Percy was right. I was loving it. He took me to a cliff, nearly unreachable if not for his whirlpools, but I did notice a small trail leading out from the surrounding woods.

The cliff went straight down to the ocean, the sound of waves crashing against the rocks a comforting noise in the background. It was also only a large, deep, sand/rock filled trench away from the Mendocino lighthouse.

It was immensely gorgeous. And with the sunset on the water's horizon, it was doubly so. For a while, Percy and I didn't speak. Just sat and enjoyed the last rays of the sun as it disappeared across the other side of his father's realm.

Only when the sun completely vanished from sight, leaving only a darkening sky and a pink horizon, did I break the silence.

"I had... a really nice time today," I turned my head to face Percy's profile, sitting a few inches away from me. "Thank you."

"I had a nice time, too. And you're welcome." He didn't turn to meet my gaze, instead, fiddling with something he had in his pocket.

"But I was wondering," he peaked at me from the corner of his eye, "if we could maybe... do this again sometime."

I smiled reassuringly. "I'd like that."

The hand that lay in my lap—_my_ hand—was nudged just the slightest, and I looked down to see Percy's fingers stretched out beseechingly. Keeping a small smile on my face, I turned my hand so that it was palm up towards the sky. An open invitation.

Without a word, Percy laced his fingers through mine and pulled our conjoined hand between us. I felt a slight tug and saw Percy lay down on the springy grass that grew on the cliff. Lying down beside him, I closed my eyes and allowed my thoughts to drift.

And for once, I didn't feel the need to be closer to him or to do something with this silence other than to bask in it. We just lay there, side by side, with only the pressure of his palm against mine connecting us together. And it was enough.

* * *

I awoke in the same position I dosed off in. And I must've dosed off at some point recent, because the sky wasn't all that dark. Thank the gods.

"Percy," I called softly, seeing him sleeping as well. And it would've been horribly cute, if not for the fact that he drooled in his sleep. That was just kind of gross.

"Percy," I tried again. This time he roused, ever so slightly. "You know, you drool in your sleep."

"Mmphtssss," was his only reply.

"Percy," I said, more urgently. I untangled my hand from his, still lying between us, to shake his shoulder.

"Unghrrhr... don't... wanna." He said more, but it was an incoherent gurgle.

"Percyyyyy," I dragged out his name incredulously.

I stood up, moaning slightly as my back creaked and popped. I gave a heavy sigh. _Well_, I thought, _that's what I get for f__alling asleep on the ground_.

As a last attempt, I nudged his leg with my toe. When there was still to reaction, I full-on kicked him.

Nothing.

"Argh!" I growled, "It'll take nothing short of a hellhound to get you up."

And just like that, Percy was up. He swooped an arm around my waist, yanking me behind him. A sword had magically appeared in his hand and was now held confidently in front of him as he tried to protect me from something that wasn't there.

"Hellhound? Where?" He searched around frantically, coming up with nothing.

"Relax, Seaweed Brain. There's no hellhound." I placed a hand on his shoulder and loosened him up from his crouch.

"Wait, Seaweed Brain? What?" Crisis apparently averted, he straightened and turned toward me.

"Well, yeah. Seaweed Brain. Because it seems your head is full of it in place of a brain." He scoffed indignantly. "And could you please put that away? Where did it even come from?"

I gestured to the sword held loosely in his hand.

"Oh, sorry. This is Anaklusmos, (A/N: Did I spell that right? I'm not sure if I did... Someone fix me, please?)" Percy touched something to the tip and the three-foot-long bronze sword shrank down into what looked like a cheap pen. "it means Riptide. This was a gift from my father."

Pocketing the sword-turned-pen, Percy just told me not to ask.

"Okay," I sighed. I guess I'd just have to deal with the weirdness.

"Percy," he looked back toward me inquisitively, "it's late. I have to get back."

"Oh, wait," It wasn't as if I was going anywhere. I'd need a whirlpool to take me off the cliff. "I wanted to give you something."

Percy pulled another object out of his pocket, this one much smaller and shone with a pale glint in the moonlight.

"This is a shell-cell. Not very original, I know." He chucked slightly and I had to agree. "But, as you can probably tell, it's kinda like a cell phone."

Handing me the device, I was stunned to find that it was actually just a small, normal-looking, spiraled sea shell.

"You put it in your ear and think of the person you want to call. But the cool part is that you don't have to speak, just think, even once you've called someone." I stared at the tiny shell in amazement. "But I have to take some of your blood for it to activate. Otherwise, it's only a non-functioning, slightly-magical sea shell."

Percy gently took my hand, and the shell, and held it out away from my body. With one swift movement, he jabbed the sharp end of the shell into my finger, drawing the slightest pinprick or blood.

"Sorry," he grimaced at my wince. Percy placed a swift peck on my injured finger. "There. All better."

After realizing what he'd just done, his ears tinged with a light pink. All the while, the shell had adopted a soft white glow. You wouldn't notice it in daylight, you wouldn't even notice it at night if you weren't looking, but it was there.

"Try it." Percy urged.

I placed the shell in my ear gently, afraid it wouldn't fit or it would feel uncomfortable. But it adjusted itself to the shape of my ear, I felt it, until it fit snugly and comfortably.

"Wow," I whispered. With Percy's eager expression as encouragement, I thought, _Perseus Jackson_.

With a delighted smile, Percy fished underneath the collar of his shirt and pulled out a shell similar to mine strung on a cord. Fitting it to his ear, I heard his voice in my mind.

_Hey, Annabeth. Do you like it?_

I heard his voice _in my mind_. As if he was talking inside my head, projecting his thoughts into mine.

_Oh, my gods. This is amazing! Thank you._

Percy's smile widened at my reply. He took the shell out and placed it back underneath his shirt.

"There's already a hole in it if you want to wear it as a necklace too." I took my shell out as well and noticed that there was, in fact, a hole just big enough to thread a chain through.

"Thank you," I reached up to pull him into a hug. After a second, he returned it. "But I really need to go. I don't want my family to worry about me."

"So, you call me?" Percy backed up to the edge of the cliff.

"Yeah, of course. Percy, what are you–"

"Bye, Annabeth!" He yelled as he plunged over the edge and plummeted towards the sea.

"Percy!" Scrambling and trying not to follow him down, I saw a glimpse of his vicious smile and caught a trace of his fading laughter before he plowed into the surf.

But he didn't exactly fall into the ocean. A split second before he hit, a whirlpool opened up and swallowed him to take him wherever he needed to go.

Leaving me stranded on a cliff.

Putting the shell back in my ear, I called for him.

_Annabeth! Callin__g so soon?_

_You left me here without a means of getting back home._

_Oh... right. Sorry._

A moment later, a whirlpool opened up to my right.

_Seaweed Brain..._

I hope he caught my exasperation.

_What? I said I was sorry. But don't worry, it'll take you whe__rever you want to go._

_I'll call you again later. Bye._

_Bye, Annabeth. And you better!_

With that, I disconnected and stepped through the whirlpool, unconsciously bracing myself for the confrontation that was bound to come. But with thoughts of Percy still in my head, and a way to talk to him in my pocket, it didn't seem all that bad.

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, so this last chapter was a bit shorter… but it seemed like a good cut off point. And I updated faster, didn't I? Didn't I? Yes. Yes I did.

And another thing; come on, guys! The reviews for the last chapter were pitiful! You could do better. Please? For me? And for Percy and Annabeth! So review. Go on, do it!

Okay, so for those of you sticking around to read this last part, thank you! But I do have some news, so _**LOOK OVER HERE AND READ THIS!**_ Did that get your attention? I hope so. I just wanted to tell you guys that I have posted a new Fic on FictionPress. It is a romance, but it is also a tragedy. I personally think it is a damn good idea, but I was hoping you guys could go over to FictionPress and tell me how it is. I only have the first chapter up, and it doesn't seem much like a tragedy right now, but the ending is really sad. So for now, it's just romance. But I would really appreciate it if you took the time to check it out. It's called _Horribly Wrong _and I published it under the name _Dawn of the Darkest Night_. So please, read and review. For me. And the more reviews I get for _Horribly Wrong _and this story, the faster I'll post the next chapter for both stories. So, I hope to see a few of you on FictionPress! (Just a heads up, but Horribly Wrong is listed under the M rating because of coarse language and events to come. I hope that doesn't dissuade you from reading, though.)

lessthanthree - Dawn


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long to update... don't hate me... I just wasn't really feeling it. Oh, but I have a new story up on FictionPress. Please go read it? It's a good one, I promise. Just check it out. I already have 2 chapters up. I'm under the name "Dawn of the Darkest Night." Well... on with the chapter, then!

**Disclaimer**: Fine! I give up! Anything that could be copyrighted belongs to their rightful owners.

* * *

Thankfully, when I got back, everyone was mostly occupied. I got away with only a light berating to not stay out so late without having told someone first, and an offer to join in to the card games the family was playing. Okay to the first, no thanks to the second.

After going up to my room, however, I found that I was feeling a bit lonely. So I called Percy. Fishing the cell-shell out of my pocket, I carefully placed it in my ear and called for him.

_Annabeth, hey! You know, when I told you to call me soon, you really didn't have to._

_Oh_, I replied. Well now I feel awkward. I wasn't sure if I should just end the call and leave him alone, or to try and salvage a conversation. It never crossed my mind that he might not be as enamored with me as I was him.

_No, no, no. I don't mind. Really, I don't. I'm glad you called, actually, but this isn't the best time. I have some... business to attend to._

The second he said "business", my mind shot to a girlfriend. Why hadn't that crossed my mind earlier?! He could already have a girlfriend, and I never thought to ask. Thinking back on this, it makes me feel so very vain. As if I expected Percy's life to revolve around me.

_Oh, sure. That's fine._ I tried to keep the dejected note out of my... thoughts, but I apparently didn't do very well.

_I'm sorry, Annabeth. I'll call you once I get finished, okay?_ He did sound edgy. Too edgy. Something serious must be up.

_Yeah, okay. Take as long as you like. I don't want to keep you._ I felt stupid, assuming that he didn't have actual _business_ to attend to. He was, technically, a prince of the sea.

_Wh-what?_ His thoughts were filled with horror and fear. A very strange reaction, but a reaction to what?

_Percy, what's wrong?_ A jumble of thoughts entered my mind; Percy's thoughts. Though, they were terribly muddled. I couldn't pick anything out.

_You don't... you don't want to keep me? What?_

_Percy, are you okay? I thought you had to go do something?_ I didn't understand what was going on, which was a rare feat for me.

_What do you mean?_ His thoughts turned harsh.

_I don't—_

_Answer the damn question!_ I inhaled a sharp gasp. Of all the things I could've assumed, I never thought that my assumption of Percy being sweet and soft-spoken was wrong.

I hurriedly answered, _Percy, I just don't want to keep you from doing whatever it is that needs your attention._

_Oh_. He paused, and it sounded like he would continue. _I have to go._

He disconnected before I could say anything.

With a resigned sigh, I took the shell out of my ear and fell backwards onto the bed. After a few minutes of staring blankly at the ceiling, I sat back up and listened to the sound of boisterous laughter coming from downstairs.

_Might as well_, I thought. I dragged myself from the bed and crept out of the room. I tentatively descended the stairs, rounding different corners until I got to the sitting room.

Everyone was huddled around the large circular table, watching the men play card games. Bobby and Matthew were playing too, but it seemed they were teamed up with Collin. Collin, who I didn't expect to see again, was hanging out with _my_ family as if he belonged there.

I couldn't tell what they were playing, but Dad, Hank, Mark, and Collin plus Bobby and Matthew were all playing. At that moment, Dad looked up and saw me lurking like a creeper around the corner of the staircase.

"Annabeth," everyone looked to where his gaze was pointed. At me. "So you decided to join us! Come one over."

I walked tentatively towards them, my sudden timidity a foreign feeling to me.

"Would you like to join?" Collin asked. He was staring at me intently. Kind of like a creeper. Gods, there are creepers all over the house today. And then there was Mark. He was definitely a creeper. But they were all still staring at me, so I answered.

"Um, yeah, actually..."

"Bobby, Matthew, why don't you make room for Annabeth?" Collin turned to the boys and, upon seeing the pouts on both of their faces, continued. "What, you don't want to see me beat her at a game of cards?"

At that, I spoke up. "As if. You can't beat me at cards."

"It's true, Collin. Watch out, if Annabeth plays, there's no chance any of us will win." Helen spoke up. I sent a small smile her way, which she caught and returned.

"Is that so?" And slowly, the awkwardness began to seep out of the room as we all got involved in the light banter. "Well, we'll just have to see about that."

Bobby and Matthew scampered out of their seat, which they'd been sharing, as I haughtily approached the table. "Is that a challenge?"

"You bet," Collin replied, a slight smirk pulling up the corners of his lips.

"Oh, it's on." I plopped myself down in the recently vacated seat and everyone inched that bit closer.

"So," I folded my hands in front of me, "what are we playing?"

"BS," Mark spoke up, "but I don't think you'll win. Collin is a mean card player."

I gave a short bark of laughter. "Well, you haven't seen anything yet. Deal me in."

Hank's wife, Michelle, who was apparently the house, collected everyone's cards and reshuffled them. She dealt them out to each player, one of us getting one less card than the rest due to the uneven division of the deck. Mark got the hand of ten, while the rest of us got the hand of eleven.

"Okay," Hank started, "are we ready?"

_Yups_, and _mhmm_'s were voiced. After quickly ordering my cards from least to greatest, I added my assent.

"Lowest 3?" I scanned my cards. Nope.

Collin threw a card face-down on the table. The lowest card, 3 of clubs.

We were playing clockwise, which meant I was next.

"4 of hearts." I announced as I threw my card on top of Collin's.

The objective of BS was to get rid of all your cards, as it is with most card games. To do so, first, the person with the lowest card must place it down. Going around in whichever order you like, the next person must place down a card higher than than the one preceding it. If you don't have a card higher, you can choose to BS it, and just throw a card down while announcing a higher card. Hopefully, no one will pick it up. If they do call you out, and you did BS, you have to take all of the cards in the pile. If you didn't BS, however, the person that called you out must take the pile.

I had an excellent strategy for this. The first few times around, I let my poker-face face slip, just the slightest, when I placed down a card that seemed like I could be BS-ing. In actuality, the card is as I said, and the person who calls me out takes the pile. Eventually, I know they'd come to expect that, so after a short while of people calling me out and failing, I'd do the same thing, except actually BS. If they see my poker-face slip, they'll assume I'm faking it and avoid calling me out. And ta-da! They've been bested.

The game continued, my strategy working magnificently. And by each round, my hand dwindled. Every time someone called me out, they ended up taking the pile. And every time that happened, the table would be consumed by laughter and the moans of whoever was lucky enough to fall for my tricks.

A few times, I actually did BS and someone looked like they were about to call me out, but then they thought better of it and stayed quiet. I am amazing.

And I was having fun, for a change. The atmosphere was loud and playful, but not stifling. I enjoyed it.

* * *

We ended up playing four rounds, until it was half past ten. I won each round. Although, I switched up my strategy each round. I wouldn't take the chance of someone figuring it out. Namely, Collin. He looked confounded with how easily I was winning.

As we cleaned up the table, which had scraps of food and wrappers on it from when we decided to start snacking, Collin roped me into a conversation.

"Well," he started, "you were right. How did you do that?"

"Now, why would I tell you?" I returned playfully, a smile still on my face from the joviality of it all. "That takes the fun out of the mystery!"

"True, true," he laughed. "You know, it not that late. D'you wanna take a walk? With me?"

It really wasn't that late, and I was still in the mood for some activity, so I agreed.

"Cool. D'you need to ask your dad?" I sighed, because he was right.

"'Scuse me for a sec." I backed away to find Dad. After getting his consent, which he gave only when he learned Collin was going with me, I returned to the sitting room to find Collin gone. A few quick scans later, I stood with him by the front door.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yup." He donned a hoodie over the surfer-T and khaki shorts he was wearing earlier. We were already walking down the road towards the beach when I realized I should've done the same.

A light wind blew passed up, causing me to shiver.

"Oh, I forgot to remind you to bring a jacket." Collin looked sheepish. "Do you want to use mine?"

I appreciated the fact that he was being courteous, but the feminist in me wouldn't accept help. I politely declined and he shrugged, not pushing it further.

We walked in a slightly awkward silence until we reached the beach, which was when he attempted to break it.

"So," he said, dragging out the word, "how do you like Mendocino?"

I smiled faintly. "It's been nice. It's beautiful here."

"Yeah, it is." I studied his profile as he began to talk about his home and what it' like living here. "I love it here. It's—"

Something hummed. Like, there was a humming, not exactly a buzzing, all over my body. I jerked in surprise.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" Collin paused for a moment. But then I remembered. The shell!

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Someone's calling." I angled away from him a bit, pulling my phone out of my pocket, the shell along with it. I pressed both to my cheek, slipping the shell in my ear as subtly as I could while hoping Collin didn't notice the absence of light from my cell phone's screen.

"Hello?" I said out loud. _I wonder if Percy can hear me like this_, I thought to myself, not projecting.

_Annabeth?_ Yup, he could. _Are you speaking out loud? You know you don't have to do that._

"I know," I kept my tone nonchalant, "I'm with someone right now."

Collin and I were still walking, him just staying silent beside me, seemingly lost in thought.

_Oh_, there was a slight decline of enthusiasm in his voice. _Who?_

"A," I paused. How was I to call Collin? "A friend."

_A... friend_, Percy said slowly. _Is this 'friend' a girl or a guy?_

"What does it matter?" I laughed, lightly teasing him.

_Never mind_, he sighed internally. Then, his voice was chipper again. _Where are you? Exactly. Where are you, right now, exactly?_

"Oh, why?" I asked cautiously. I was still worried about him blowing up on me, as he did earlier. "I'm at the beach near the house."

_Hmm, okay_. Then he disconnected. Just like that. Weird. I put the shell and my phone back in my pocket. Collin, noticing that my attention was now free, claimed it once again.

"So, who was that?" He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, that was—"

"Annabeth!" A very familiar voice called. I whirled around, seeing Percy just appear as if... _as if he came out of the ocean_.

"Percy, what are you—"

"Doing here?" He jogged up to my other side and slung a heavy arm over my shoulder, like it was completely normal to just appear out of nowhere and start getting all touchy-feely with me. Not that I didn't like it.

"Well, I just so happened to be in the area," he shrugged, and that was all the explaining he did.

Collin cleared his throat uneasily. "Um, hi...?"

"Oh, hey," Percy replied noncommittally, his attention riveted on me. He smiled wider, lighting up his whole face. I realized I had unconsciously moved my arm so that it wasn't squished between us, and was instead resting around his waist.

"Yeah," I looked back and forth between Percy and Collin, "who are you?"

"Oh, sorry," Percy did not look sorry at all. He raised his gaze to Collin, though his eyes were still cast downwards, seeing as how he was still a bit taller. "I'm Perseus, but you can call me Percy. I'm Annabeth's boyfriend."

I opened my mouth to argue, but a small pinch on my neck from Percy kept me silent.

"Really?" Collin looked dubious. Lowering his gaze to me, he asked, "Annabeth, you have a boyfriend?"

"Um," Percy gave me another pinch, "yeah. Did I not mention him?"

"No, you didn't." I saw hurt in his gaze. I would've felt bad, but then Percy's fingers started slowly stroking my neck, soothing the residual sting from his rather hard pinches. Suddenly, I couldn't concentrate.

"I didn't catch your name," Percy covered my silence. I noticed him fighting a smirk. Damn him. He knew exactly why I was momentarily robbed of speech.

"Collin."

"Well, Collin, it was great to meet you, but I'm gonna have to steal Annabeth." He started leading me away, and, unsure of what to do, I let him. "Bye."

Once we were out of earshot, I said furiously, "What was that?"

Percy didn't say anything at first, his jaw working. Then: "I didn't like him."

"You didn't like him? _You_ didn't like him? I like him!" The barest hint of hurt flickered in his eyes, though for what reason, I wouldn't know.

"Oh, so you like him more that me?" He sneered indignantly. I didn't know what came over him. It was like he was a completely different person.

"No. Of course not," I scoffed. Then it dawned on me, "Is that what this is about? You're _jealous_?"

Percy only scowled.

"That's it, isn't it?" I pressed. "Why would you be jealous?"

Again, I was met with scowling and silence.

"You know what? Fine." I shrugged his arm off and started walking away. A brisk wind blew into me, reminding me that I was still without a jacket and it was quite cold.

"Annabeth," he called, but it wasn't until a few seconds had passed that he followed me. All too soon, he had caught up to me.

"You're right. I was jealous. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I'm normally not like this." One sheepish smile from him and I was already a pile of goo at his feet. Not cool.

I sighed heavily, but didn't accept his apology. Instead, I changed the subject. Only a little, though.

"Why were you jealous anyways?" I tried to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice, but I found that I didn't have to. I didn't feel accusatory at all.

"I," Percy paused, a look of confusion on his brow, "I don't really know. I was just... jealous."

"Well, I hope it doesn't happen again. And besides, you don't actually have a claim to me." I meant to pass that statement off a nonchalant but a flash of hurt showed in his gaze.

"I don't?" He asked softly. By now, the beach was mostly empty, only a few other couples walking the shores. Looking around, I reminded myself that it was late and I was cold and had to get back.

I shivered, just the tiniest tremor, but Percy picked up on it and his expression showed surprise followed by guilt.

"Annabeth, you're cold. Why didn't you say anything? Here," he pulled his hoodie over his head and handed it over. "You should've known better than to go out at night with only shorts and a t-shirt."

When I didn't take it from him, he sighed, then shoved my head through the hole, disheveling my hair. One by one, he pulled my arms through the sleeves and rolled them up until my fingers peeked through, his hands warm and gentle.

Upon seeing my scowl, he gave a small laugh and smoothed back my hair. His ever-twinkling green eyes lowered to mine and my breath seemed to stall in my chest, whereas his hands stalled on my cheeks.

Abruptly, he ducked his head lower and pressed a quick kiss to my lips. I could feel the blush rising in my cheeks and the shocked expression on my face. Both were mirrored on his.

"Percy..." My voice was airy, as if I couldn't quite catch my breath, "What are you...?"

"Tell me you felt something," his voice was infinitely soft, "I'm not imagining this, am I?"

He searched my eyes beseechingly, hope and fear mingling in his gaze, awaiting my reply. And though I wanted to deny it, I know I felt something. I felt it the minute we met, back when I was screaming my head off because he was half godly fish.

"I..." my voice faltered. I wasn't sure how to answer. This, _we_, were going too fast. I'd met him, what, three days ago? And already we'd had an immediate reaction. What was I supposed to say?

I know that in books, the heroine always denies the attraction, thinking that he's too good for her or that they'll never last. But the whole time they could've been happy together was wasted on her stubbornness. I might as well learn from that.

"Percy, I," I took a deep breath. Percy, on the other hand, seemed to stop breathing all together. "Relax, Seaweed Brain." I added, my tone joking. Then I mustered all of my strength and boldness... and kissed him.

* * *

**A/N**: I was gonna continue the kiss scene, but it was getting a little long. So, I gave you a cliffhanger. This is also the longest chapter by far. So, what do you think? Of the chapter in general and the idea of longer chapters with major cliffhangers, or shorter chapters with a tapered ending. And I know Percy's acting a little weird. It's all part of the plan, though. Just wait... Reviews are much appreciated!

lessthanthree - Dawn


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